Thursday, December 31, 2009

We usually spend New Year's Eve with my parents but this year we were invited to go to a friends house. We thought we would go for a while and then go to my parents just before midnight, instead we decided to stay at the Shumways. We spent the night eating, dancing and playing games. We were having a fun time. The kids were so excited to see the peach drop. This is their favorite part of course. They were getting tired but managed to make it to midnight. We unfortunately did not get to see the ball drop, due to everyone else wanting to watch the crazy guy jump over a building or something like that with his car. My attempts to get the channel changed for my girls who had been waiting all night, did not work out (even though you can watch the stupid car jump a million time on ESPN) My girls were very sad and we had lots of tears but all in all we had a fun time. I'm pretty sure next year we will stick to what we know and go to my parents. I love my Rachel and I'm glad she invited us over.

Faking a smile so mommy could at least get one picture of them at midnight. We just said happy new year ourselves drank our sparkling cider and left.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Well it is finally here. I turned thirty today. Turning thirty seems like no big deal but to me it was like the start of being old. Haha! My best friend Megan and my wonderful husband prepared a huge party for me. We had a great time. My cake was a GA Bulldog cake and we had the GA game on through out the party. We had lots of great food of course and played pool and just had a wonderful time being together as friends. People who came were Megan & Lee Bartlett, The Moore's, Ryan & Brindi Horsley, my sister Jana, Thyane & Rachael Shumway, Stacey Christian, Haley Flanders, my parents, Justin and Kristina Cersey, Scott and Dan Kaiser, Fernando Lobo, Brandon Earick, Mike & Betsy Baugh, and Patrick & Esther Andrade. All my favorite people were there. I love all my family and friends who made this a wonderful night for me.

Friday, December 25, 2009

I love Christmas Morning. We get up and read the birth of Christ in the scriptures together as a family before we let the girls go downstairs. This year grandma and grandpa Cersey came over to see the girls open their stockings and gifts. This was really exciting because they don't usually do that. The girls were very excited about all the fun things they got. Alexis was especially excited about her HSM doll house and her Hannah Montana roller skates. Meg was in love with her American Girl doll and wouldn't put her down.

After they opened their stockings we went up to the loft where their tree was and let them open their million presents. Happiness for sure filled the room.

As you can see Andy loves to make crazy faces in all his pictures.

Christmas with the Moore'sWe have to BEST neighbors in the entire world. They are like family to us. This year Cherie bought Kevin a Flat Screen TV for his loft and asked us to keep it under our tree for him. He had no idea and was totally surprised. The kids enjoy exchanging gifts with Casey and Cierra. As you can see there are no pictures of me and Cherie which is fine by us. Cherie's sister Stacy was also here and came over for the fun. We really love the Moore's.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

We went back over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to have Christmas eve. Every year we let the kids open one gift on Christmas Eve. It has been a tradition for both Andy and myself since we were kids. In Andy's family they always got to open a new pair of PJ's, so that is what we do with our girls and each other. It has become a great tradition for our little family. Funny thing about Andy's gift was that he had lost his BYU sweatshirt several months ago and has been really bumbed about it. So that is what he wanted me to get him this year for his pj's. Well a few days before, I was over at my mom's and she had found a BYU sweatshirt in the front closet and wanted to know if I knew who's it was. I got so excited because Andy has been looking everywhere for it. So I decided to wrap it up with his pajama pants and stick a little note in the box that said "I FOUND IT" Needless to say he was very excited.

After we opened our pj's we let the kids give grandma a Paula Dean Cooking CD that Lexi had found and thought would make a great gift for grandma. We also gave them a Cocomotion Hot Chocolate maker. Grandma was so excited about it because she loves hot chocolate. We definitely tried it out tonight and it was awesome. The gift that my dad opened was one that I was very excited to give them. A few months ago I had the thought to ask the entire family one night at dinner if they would all write their testimonies down and send them to me. Once I received everyone's I compiled them all into a book and had it printed up. Each page had a picture and a testimony on it. It was so amazing to read them all and I believe it is a treasure that will last a lifetime.

When we got home it was time to feed the reindeer and leave some cookies out for Santa. Then we went up to bed and daddy read the girls "The Night Before Christmas." This was a great day.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Today we went Christmas Caroling with a group of our friends for Family Home Evening. Each family made a few plates of cookies and we went to several houses and sang for them a the kids handed them some cookies. We are so fortunate to have such great friends that we love dearly. The families we went with were Mike and Betsy Baugh and their 4 kids. Patrick and Esther Andrade and their two kids. Chuck and Jenn Dalton and their two kids. We had such a great time. Everyone looked so cute in their Christmas hats.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

After Church we went over to mom and dads to have our family Christmas. The grand kids usually decorate a tree at grandma's house on Thanksgiving but since we were at Disney World we weren't able to do that. The kids always love decorating the tree with their cousins. This year we had several little helpers and to say the least we had a few broken ornaments. After the tree was all up the kids opened their gifts from each other and a few from grandma and grandpa. Part of our Christmas this year was our tickets to Disney World, but of course mom and dad still had stuff up their sleeves for more gifts. The kids were given two gift certificates, one for a shopping spree and one for a weekend with grandma and grandpa. They were very excited. Dad also wrote a poem which he usually does at every holiday. I love my family very much and feel lucky that we all live so close to each other so that we can make memories that will last forever.

I love taking pictures on Christmas Sunday. The girls always look so pretty in their Christmas dresses. This year my mom came over and helped me put up a second tree in our entryway. I put the one that the girls decorated up in the loft.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Another great Tavaci concert. This is really one of my favorite things in the world. I absolutely love watching my girls perform. It brings me great joy. I am so grateful to Betsy and Esther who make it possible for my girls to share their talents. Every year at our Christmas concert Santa comes for a visit. The girls are always so excited that Santa would come all the way from the North Pole just to see their concert. We love Santa.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Megan is in 4th grade this year. She is really enjoying it. She has made some good friends and is loving her teacher Ms. Conklin. We had a fun time with her at her class Christmas Party. Grandma was able to come and have fun with us.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Alexis is in 1st grade this year. She has a wonderful teacher Ms. Fisher. She is having a great year so far. She loves playing with all her friends and getting tons of attention from her teacher. We had a fun time at her class Christmas Party.

Megan had to do a project on South Carolina this year. Megan is in 4th grade and she is loving school. She has a wonderful teacher in Ms. Conklin. Megan had a fun time doing this project with her daddy.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I recently got called as 1st counselor in the YW's presidency. The really cool thing is that my sister in law Kristina is the 2nd counselor and our President is her mother MaryAnn. We are keeping it all in the family to say the least. Our advisers are Betsy Baugh who works with Kristina, Laura Kaiser who works with me, and Rachael Shumway who works with MaryAnn and we have Nicole Wood as our secretary. I am really excited about this new calling. I love being with the youth. We decided to have a Christmas party with all the girls for our joint activity for December. We all got together at my house and had some yummy food and then we had a White elephant gift exchange. It was fun, the girls brought some silly things. I ended the night off by reading a poem called The White Stocking. I put the words to the poem on a scroll and rolled it up and placed it in a white stocking and gave one to each of the girls. I think that the night went pretty well.

The White Stocking`Twas the night before Christmas as I walked through the house,Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.The presents had been wrapped and placed under the tree,I paused, tired, excited, and then giggled with glee.The stockings were hanging and were beautifully filled,No one had been forgotten, though the credit card was billed.As I looked at the scene with the stockings on the ledge,I noticed one empty, the one on the edge.Where's the Spirit of Christmas – What have I done?The children's stockings are full, except for this one.It was the stocking intended for the child of Bethlehem.The white stocking for Jesus that was hung up by them.Of all the people at Christmas, that might be forgottenHow could I not remember the Fathers Only Begotten?Only He had been left out of the festivities,As we planned and prepared all, for our families.As I pondered, I realized this just was not right!It was His birth that was being celebrated, after this night.I resolved then and there to remember The Lord,And quickly made changes that were easy to afford.I hung the white stocking in a special place in our home,And corrected the atmosphere to provide a more spiritual tone.On Christmas morning I gathered the family together,And each of us wrote on a special piece of paper.We gave Jesus a gift which we placed in the stocking,A sincere change of heart, not there for the mocking.The white stocking hung in our home as a symbol for us,Of the true meaning of Christmas – the Savior, The Lord Jesus.So take your white stocking and hang it with pride,Remember the Savior, put his gift inside.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Each year the girls get to go to The Bridge Assisted Living Center for a performance. It is always so fun to go and see all the elderly get so excited about the kids singing. We have been going for several years now so it is cool to see familiar faces when we go. The girls always enjoy this performance.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

This year for Alexis Birthday she wanted to have a slumber party. We borrowed the Cano's projector and big projection screen and put it up in the loft. We bought a bunch of snacks and let all the girls just pig out. They had a really fun time eating and watching movies. Her friends that came were Cierra Moore, Ellie Cano, Megan Dollar, Savannah Baugh, Emily Cano, Alyssa Baugh, and Natalia Andrade.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

It has been a tradition since I was a youth that the YM/YW have a Locate the Bishopric at the mall activity. The bishopric try to disguise themselves and walk around the mall and the youth have to try to find them all. Since Andy is the executive secretary he got to participate this year. We turned him into a poly with tattoos. We had a fun time getting him ready. He looked pretty scary and even scared a few of the youth. There was also a group of ladies clinging onto their purses in fear that he was going to mug them. It was pretty funny.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The time for a family vacation has come. This years vacation was over Thanksgiving week with the entire Cersey clan. We all took off to a place that is “Magical” for all ages. That’s right! We went to Disney World for an entire week. Below you will find pictures by day of what we did.

On the way down to Orlando it is a tradition anytime that we travel to Florida we stop at Dairy Queen to get a blizzard. This was a highlight every time that my wife used to go see her grandma and grandpa as she was growing up so we’ve kept that tradition with our children. We arrived in Orlando and got settled in the great home that we were fortunate enough to stay in thanks to some good family friends.

Day 2 was spent at Magic Kingdom. This was a day full of teacups, Dumbo, 3-D Shows, Peter Pan, Racetracks, Buzz Lightyear, and many other activities.

Day 3 was the Sabbath so we all know what to do on vacation on Sunday, RELAX!!! That’s what we all did. Jess spent along time braiding the girls hair so that we wouldn’t have to worry about doing it the rest of the week. What a great idea.

Day 4 we were off to MGM. Jess & Kristina thought they were all that with their cool fanny packs. The favorite ride here at MGM, was the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster. We were able to witness one of the coolest stunt shows that there is. We saw Light’s, Motor’s, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. This was 33 minutes of high-octane excitement! Then I was selected to be a special guest in the parade with my girls favorite float, “High School Musical”. Zac Efron has nothing on me and my top hat.

Day 5 was day two of Magic Kingdom in which we rode the ferry over to the park, saw Mickey and Minnie’s houses, pulled the sword from the stone, and watched one of the most amazing firework shows you could see. Yes that is the one on Main Street over Cinderella’s Castle. This was a long day and plenty of tired girls.

Day 6 was a stormy one in which we all went our own ways to whatever park we wanted to go to. The girls wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom again and so we have day three of the same park. This was one of the best days in that we as a family got to spend it all together all by ourselves and just ran as hard as we could. Teacups, It’s a Small World, RaceTrack, Buzz Lightyear, The Princess signing event, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and much more. As you can see from the pictures the girls were exhausted again.

Day 7 was Thanksgiving in which we took off early in the morning and went to Animal Kingdom. Events that we did were An African Safari, Lion King Show, Jurasic Park Ride, and the favorite of ALL “EVEREST”. After spending the morning at Animal Kingdom we all went back to the house for our Thanksgiving Dinner and the long needed RELAX time. It’s been a tradition for grandpa to write a song for the kids to learn and perform for the adults so he wrote, “The Turkey Wobble.” Oh yeah there was Thanksgiving day football and the Macy’s Day Parade as well. Thanks mom for the yummy food.

Day 8 was our cultural experience as we took off to Epcot. We visited many countries and partook of many cultural experiences. The girls had a great time visiting these areas of the different countries. We then stayed for another great firework show that was over the water of the lake in the middle of the park. Alexis really loved the show as she fell asleep before it started and even stayed asleep during the loud noises that were made. Everyone was freezing cold but all had a great time.

Day 9 was the final day in the parks. Today we went to Animal Kingdom again and the kids wanted to ride Everest multiple times. We also went and saw the Finding Nemo musical, A Bugs Life 3-D show, and ate at the Rain Forest Café. What a great time all had as we built memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks mom and dad Cersey for providing the opportunity for such a wonderful time.

Our Family Time Line

January 1999 – We have our first encounter between two lost souls (Andy & Jessica). Andy took a ski trip with his family to Grand Targhee in Driggs, ID. Jessica was at RicksCollege and is invited to go with. She accepts although she has never been skiing before. She takes a few runs with the beginners then Dad Dollar says, “Andy, take Jess up on the lift now and help her come down. I guess I was being setup. She did well. She only fell and hit me in the head with her poles ones. We dropped her off and she didn’t want to leave. I guess I was to irresistible.

Mar 1999 – Finally reunited after our trip. The sparks were flying!

April 1999 – Engagement

June 1999 – Wedding

July 1999 – It time for our honeymoon. We went to Europe for two weeks (Czech & Bulgaria). Let’s not forget that this was with 40 other people. We went a tour with the performing group Andy was in. It was so much fun!

June 2000 – The first of our beautiful little girls joined our family. Megan Elise was born in American Fork, UT.

July 2000 – Andy leaves his new baby girl and wife to tour Europe again. This trip took him to Hungary and Romania. There’s nothing like being able to see how blessed we are to live with such great freedom. Third world countries are truly an eye opener. Another great experience!

September 2000 – Andy sat on the bed in his parents’ room with all his brothers and sisters gathered to tell them all that we as a family were moving to the South (Georgia) to take a job and be closer to Jessica’s entire family. This was one of the hardest days of Andy’s life. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

October 2000 – We move to GA and Andy starts new job with Grainger Industrial Supply. Andy progressed quickly in the leadership ranks and eventually decided that he would try his luck sales.

December 2001 - We bought our first little home. Yippee! We are no longer living with parents. Not that it was all that bad. It was sure nice to be just us though.

December 2002 – The second of our beautiful little girls joined our family. Alexis Nicole was born in Lawrenceville, GA.

May 2005 – Andy finds that thing that brings him so much relaxation in life, officiating high school football. Anyone that knows anything about the south, that statement was an oxymoron. Football in the south is like another religion for these people. They live, breathe, talk about, and wait for it everyday of their lives. Andy really enjoys being on the field every Friday night and giving back to the boys. He loves the game and being able to still be a part of it is really a blast. He thinks he doesn’t get enough with JV games (Thursday nights), and Varsity games (Friday nights) so he also does Saturday youth ball too.

June 2006 – The time for change is upon us. We moved into a new home and Andy left Grainger to finally join his dad and other family members in his fathers business. He is in a customer service role that allows him to travel all over the country taking care of clients. He really enjoys the work but traveling can take its toll on you.

September 2007 – Jess begins her own business. After struggling to decide if she really wanted to work or just be mother, Jess decided that she wanted to do both. She found something that would allow her to do so. She loves her role of being an Independent Consultant for Heritage Makers. The bottom line of Heritage Maker is that each of us has a story. Story is at the heart of all we do. Stories provide a way for us to discover the rich heritage of which we are a part. With Heritage Makers these stories can be preserved forever in custom hardbound books and projects. Instead of my wife pulling out all of her scrap booking supplies, she is now able to do everything she would have done and much more all on her computer. This has truly been something that has helped our family. Our girls absolutely love seeing the completed projects of events that have occurred in their lives. Anyone interested in seeing what this is all about feel free to check it out at: www.mypricesslesskeepsakes.com.Ok that was the salesman in me.

April 2008 - Well now that we are somewhat caught up we will do our best to keep things updated.

LITTLE SIDE NOTE

2004-2007 – On a lighter note, we as a family have tried to bring other spirits into this life but have not been so lucky. Jess has had four miscarriages in the last 4 years. Yes that is one a year. It has been really hard but we feel so blessed to have the two wonderful girls we do. We have learned a lot about overcoming trials and tribulations but most importantly we have learned to rely on the Lord in all things.